This collaboration allows our team members residing in Moorea to reach our organization free of charge, as well as facilitates the transportation of injured turtles during rescues.

This week, during its release in Opunohu Bay, Pereiti, a hawksbill turtle we cared for at our rehabilitation center, traveled from Tahiti to Moorea aboard the ferry.

Thank you to the Tauati Ferry team !

A clinical examination revealed four perforations in her neck, likely caused by a harpoon gun, which we sutured. She also presented a secondary issue of buoyancy due to air in the lungs, which we were able to monitor through X-rays and treat accordingly.

After nearly 5 months of care and observation at the association, the air bubbles in her lungs have sufficiently resolved, allowing her to dive again when needed, and she is no longer floating.We released her yesterday in the bay of Opunohu in Moorea, where she had been rescued, from the beach of Ta’ahiamanu.

Thank you to the Direction de l’Environnement Polynésie Française.

A big thank you also to Nicolas Grilleau for these stunning photos! If you find a sick, injured, stranded or dead turtle :

Call us at 87 39 08 45 or 87 70 60 66!

We can be reached at any time to intervene and take care of these turtles

To call the RGO : 89571430

*Sea turtle rehabilitation center authorized by the Direction of the Environment of French Polynesia

Partners : Pacific Beachcomber, InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa, Vilebrequin, Air Tahiti Nui, Air Tahiti, Jean-François Clervoy, Frank Lehot , Hinerava, The Brando, Tetiaroa Society, Polynésie Voyages, IFBD, Le poids du vivant , Aremiti Tahiti – Moorea, Hello Scoot, Visa 1er Secours, Suites Mana and My Turquoise Pro.

We collected 10 bags of 100 liters, including 3 filled with plastic bottles, as well as a wheelbarrow, glass, many cans, and numerous beer caps!

Thank you very much to all the volunteers for your help, and to the 4 high school students who dedicated their time during their school holidays.

Why organizing clean-up actions? Garbage in the wild pollutes the soil and can be a great danger to wildlife : plastic in the digestive system, injuries, entanglement, disruption of the living environment… All those can be avoided by changing our habits!

Together, let’s take care of our Fenua and its biodiversity .

Project financed by Ungestepourlamer, with the support of Ville de Faa’a.

FACE, the Foundation for Inclusion, brings together public, private, and associative actors in the fight against exclusion, discrimination, and poverty. It supports the most marginalized groups and implements concrete actions in the fields of education and guidance, employment and professional integration, access to rights, and ecological transition.

We are delighted with this wonderful collaboration between our two organizations and the upcoming projects !

An antibiotic treatment has been initiated, and disinfection and bandaging care are being performed daily. Radiographic examinations have also been conducted to confirm the fractures and ensure she doesn’t have any developing eggs.

Freshwater baths for one hour are also provided three times a week for rehydration. The test in the rehabilitation pool, once the healing has progressed, will be crucial for her ongoing care and release.

We hope her injuries will improve positively, and we will provide updates very soon.

Thank you to the Clermont-Tonnerre association, Air Tahiti, the RGO, and the DIREN for making this care possible.

*Sea turtle rehabilitation center authorized by the Direction of the Environment of French Polynesia

Partners : Pacific Beachcomber, InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa, Vilebrequin, Air Tahiti Nui, Air Tahiti, Jean-François Clervoy, Frank Lehot , Hinerava, The Brando, Tetiaroa Society, Polynésie Voyages, IFBD, Le poids du vivant , Aremiti Tahiti – Moorea, Hello Scoot, Visa 1er Secours, Suites Mana and My Turquoise Pro.

Meeting point: in front of the sport field, near Vai’aha primary school, in Faa’a, at 8 AM.

Clean up location: sport field, near Vai’aha primary school, in Faa’a.

What to think about? Gloves if you have, sun protection and water, and closed shoes. Also let us know if you’re joining!

Haere mai, join us to make this waste collection more impactful and prevent all this waste from ending up in the ocean!

This waste collection event is part of the “Zero pollution in my lagoon” educational and awareness-raising project sponsored by Ungestepourlamer, with the support of Ville de Faa’a.

With an average size of 1.5m (which can reach up to 2m) and its weight between 300 and 400kg on average (record 916kg), it is the most imposing of the sea turtles. Another impressive fact is that this turtle can go up to 1000m deep and stay apnea for up to 8 hours.

Present in French Polynesia in the Tuamotus in particular, it has only rarely been observed. The leatherback turtle does not have scales : its back is made up of a thin skin covering a thick layer of fat giving it the appearance of leather.And you, have you ever seen a leatherback turtle?

If so, tell us in the comments where you met her!

We’d also like to thank all the participants in Tuesday’s and Thursday’s conferences, as well as Vahine Ahu’ura RURUA, French Polynesia’s ambassador for the Fête de la Science 2024. But also Laetitia Hedouin from Science4Reefs, Victoire Laurent from Météo-France Polynésie française and Guillaume Mitta from Ifremer in the Pacific for the series of lectures by researchers on the theme ‘Ocean of Knowledge.

And a big thank you to Guillaume Néry, sponsor of the 2024 edition, for his superb days of presentations in schools in Tahiti and Moorea throughout the week!

An enriching sharing of knowledge

Upon the arrival of Cécile, the founder and one of the permanent veterinarians of Te mana o te moana, a few moments later, she confirmed the animal’s death.The turtle was in a state of severe emaciation, and its shell was covered in algae, indicating its inability to dive for several weeks, as well as abnormal and unbalanced buoyancy.

During the autopsy conducted that same morning, the cause of death was immediately identified: a digestive obstruction caused by recurrent ingestion of plastic.

The details of the autopsy reveal that this turtle had accumulated plastic debris over the years, particularly pieces of plastic bags that became entangled, leading to reduced feeding, chronic weight loss, and ultimately a complete cessation of digestive transit, resulting in its death.Nothing could have been done to save this turtle, but the observation remains alarmingly consistent: since our establishment in 2004, we have seen an increasing number of turtles found dead in French Polynesia due to plastic ingestion! It is high time to act, and on a large scale !

They help maintain the balance of seagrass beds and coral reefs. By feeding on algae, they indirectly absorb the CO2 stored within. Healthy coral reefs are essential for many marine species and play an important role in biodiversity.

Their protection is therefore crucial for preserving biodiversity and ensuring the resilience of oceans in the face of environmental threats.